The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1480-1580

Rating:
Summary: dry read about interesting period
Review: I found this book to be a decent, but rather dry, read about an interesting period. The first thing to note is that this book only covers the period 1480-1580, so those interested in, for instance, the US dealings with the Barbary States in the 18th Century should look elsewhere.

While this book provides decent coverage of the historical events and personages in the relevant period and of the complex relationship between Christian and Muslim of this period, the book suffers from its organization: the first few chapters essentially run through a rather dry history of the period (X did so and so in year Y, etc.) with later chapters dedicated to overall topics such as "The Africa of the Corsairs", "Slavery", and "War and Propaganda." While the material in these final chapters is pretty interesting, the book as a whole would have been much more engrossing if the materials in these chapters would have been woven into the hisorical account instead of simply lumped into seperate chapters.

Rating:
Summary: To many mistakes.
Review: It is difficult to find in one book, apparently well written, so many crucial historical mistakes.
Just a few examples. The galleys denoted as belonging to Savona, then a small port of no consequence, were actually of the duke of Savoy.
During the war of Cyprus the Turks that landed in the island were at least 100.000 and not 2.000; Nicosia was lost to the Venetian in 1570 and the long siege that lasted until August 1571 was against Famagusta, defended by Marcantonio Bragadin, Astorre Baglioni and Luigi Martinengo.
In that period Sebastiano Venier was Provveditore of the island of Corfù and so he could not have been the commander of the Venetian fleet. Sebastiano Venier, in all his life, was never reluctant to attack, as it was clearly shown later in the battle of Lepanto.
As far as this battle is concerned Heers ignores that the victory, as acknowledged by Don Juan of Austria himself, was mainly due to the six Venetian galleasses.
Without any doubt Jaques Heers is an excellent professor of Medioeval History: not so, at least reading this book, of Modern History.

Rating:
Summary: More interesting than Caribbean pirates
Review: Piracy in the Mediterranean existed before 1480, and continues up until the present day. The author of this book concentrates on the period 1480 - 1580 (it roughly ends with the battle of Lepanto) when the Barbary coast pirates dominated the sea lanes. They cut out their own kingdoms and were deeply involved in international politics.
The book centres on the career of the Barbarossa brothers, and their alliance with Francis the First of France.
The book describes the world of the pirates in vivid and horrible detail. Piracy in the Mediterranean was really ugly. No one was safe, and everyone was involved.
The only things I really lack in this book detailed maps and descriptions of the ships of the time.